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FOR THE COMFORT 
OF THE FAMILY 



FOR THE COMFORT 
OF THE FAMILY 

A VACATION EXPERIMENT 



BY 

JOSEPHINE STORY 



ILLUSTRATED FROM 
PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIES 
POSED BY THE AUTHOR 



NEW YORK 
GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 






COPTBIGHT, 1914, BY 

GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 



OCT 27 1914 
©CU387218 



*Lq, 



w 



i^ CONTENTS 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I 
Personalities and Paper IS 

CHAPTER II 
Reckoning-Day Dishes 23 

CHAPTER III 
The Tools of Your Trade 35 

CHAPTER IV 
For a Simple and Sane Sunday 47 

CHAPTER V 
And Now to Breakfast! 57 

CHAPTER VI 
Our Invalid Neighbor 67 

CHAPTER VII 
The Emergency Cupboard 77 

CHAPTER VIII 
When We Eat What We Can and "Can'' What We 

Can't 87 

CHAPTER IX 
Ready-to-Eat Suppers 99 

CHAPTER X 

Confections and Conclusion Ill 

5 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGH 



When the table is to be set, every necessary dish, glass and 

piece of silver is placed on the papier mache* tray 

Frontispiece 
In the kitchen was installed a roll of paper toweling . 14 

The papier mache' tray renders one trip only necessary 
between refrigerator and kitchen. A card index box in 
which is registered every cent spent in the kitchen de- 

y 

partment 24' 

In attractive, screw-top jars sauces and salad dressings are 
kept ready for use 28 

A bread mixer saves time and energy, the cook books in 
their washable slip covers of white linen; a card index 
box for recipes and tools attached to the work bench 
by chains are a few of the devices which make work in 
the kitchen more efficient 38 

The cork bulletin board has proved to be the Good Genie 

of the house 42* 

A bread slicer makes sandwiches for Sunday luncheon a 

very simple matter 48 i 

Fruit to be served in tall, cool-looking glasses for Sunday 
supper may be prepared on Saturday and placed in a 

glass jar in refrigerator 52 y 

7 



8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGB 

The next step was to substitute paper for the linen doilies 
used on the polished table. Paper napkins, plates and 
cups have proved dainty, magical time-savers . . 58 

I discovered paper bags in which to cook chops to a state 
of luscious juiciness, and lo! those bogies, Greasy 
Pans, skulked shamefacedly out of sight! . . .6$ 

Within easy reach on a white enameled towel-rack, such 
as one sees in a nursery, were arranged the wraps of 
the Princess 68 

Beside the invalid's bed on a small table were an electric 
night-lantern, a thermos caraffe, a clock with an al- 
most soundless tick 73 

When one guest arrives unexpectedly serve luncheon on a 
tray. 'Tis quicker, easier and seems more dainty and 
festive 78 

When we serve a cool, refreshing drink to guests on the 

veranda paper cups are a boon 82 

My eyes are always on the watch for an odd-shaped glass 

jar in which to present jams and jellies to my friends 90 

Long before the apple-picking season arrives we search for 
attractive baskets and hampers 94 

That comfort of the servantless, the fireless cooker . . 100 

Supper dishes which may be prepared in the morning. 
Banbury tarts; brown bread for sandwiches; macaroni 
and tomato sauce; deviled lobster in individual dishes; 
cheese sandwiches ready to toast 106 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 9 



PAGE 



In the hour following supper confections are quickly and 

easily made on the range or in the chafing dish . . 112 v 

The Japanese shops and ten-cent stores are mines of op- 
portunity in which to find attractive and inexpensive 
receptacles for tempting home-made candies . . 116 y 



"Very soon there will be no servant problem, as there 
will be no servants." — Ellen Key. 

"Thou dost need to learn of our brave Captain John 
Smith, who made his boast that he scorned to sit down 
in a library to write of other men's exploits, but that he 
did rather take his pen and inkhorn with him into the 
trenches and behind the barricades where what his sword 
did his pen writ." 



CHAPTER ONE: PERSONALITIES 
AND PAPER 



FOR THE COMFORT OF THE 
FAMILY 

CHAPTER I 

PERSONALITIES AND PAPER 

In which is recorded how one woman having 
signed a declaration of independence put her 
hand to the plow of determination. 

Mary the Temperamental was departing. 
In spite of the fact that she had a spirit which 
would have dared the devil; that her cooking 
was well-meant but depressing; such are the 
subtleties and complexities of modern home- 
making that there was a stinging sensation 
beneath my eyelids as I saw her go. 

In solemn conclave the night before, WE, 
the family, had agreed that rather than spend 
one moment of our precious vacation pursu- 
ing that elusive, that essentially American 
product, the general housework girl, we 

13 



14 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

would share the household duties and go 
it alone. The one cross-your-throat-and-hope- 
to-die promise which my men-folk extorted 
from me was — I being the feminine quarter of 
the family unit — that if I found myself get- 
ting overtired I was to confess. 

Two weeks later I had forgotten that I had 
doubted my ability to make good. I had a 
sense of infinite opportunity. My first move 
had been to watch for wasted minutes as I 
went about my work. By a process of elimina- 
tion and selection, dust-collecting ornaments, 
furniture, superfluous silver, in fact every 
article which did not contribute directly to the 
artistic or material comfort of the family, 
vanished into the limbo of discarded things. 
The result of my clearance was a sense of 
restful spaciousness in the house and a magical 
increase in leisure moments. 

Next I discovered the number of needless 
steps which were taken between dining-room 
and kitchen. In the nearest city I bought two 
white papier-mache trays — size 22 x 16 inches 
— which sell for $1.75 each. One of these is 
kept in the china-closet and, when the table is 




'In the kitchen was installed a roll of paper toweling 



PERSONALITIES AND PAPER 15 

to be set, every necessary dish, glass, and piece 
of silver is placed on the tray and taken to the 
dining-room; then back it goes to receive the 
dishes which are to be heated in the kitchen. 
When the food is ready it again renders one 
trip only necessary. The second tray is kept 
in the kitchen for refrigerator and pantry 
use. The usefulness of the trays depends upon 
the amount of intelligence of the woman be- 
hind them. 

My next step was to substitute paper for 
the linen doilies used on the polished table. I 
found such pretty ones. They look like a piece 
of crochet, are firm, quite thick and can with 
care be used a number of times. I bought 
plate and finger bowl sizes and small ones for 
the water glass by the hundred. Then I in- 
vested in a dozen large oval doilies to use over 
asbestos mats, under hot platters, and some 
large round ones with a lacey edge upon which 
to unmold a jelly, mousse or parfait. As mine 
would have been the task of laundering the 
linen doilies, think what an amount of time, 
strength and energy I saved by substituting 
paper. 



16 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

I bought white paper napkins at ten cents 
per hundred. The saleswoman where I was 
buying knew her business, for, when I confided 
to her what I was trying to do, she fairly radi- 
ated interest. "Have you ever tried paper 
plates? Some folks use them for food which 
is put in the ice-box," she volunteered. Her 
suggestion seemed worth trying, so I pur- 
chased plates, size 6 x 7 at 40 cents and size 
8 x 9 at 50 cents per hundred, and you can have 
no idea until you . try them what time they 
save. 

No more skillful device to kill interest in 
housework was ever contrived than that drudg- 
ery, washing dishes. The Youngest Member, 
to whose lot had fallen this portion of our co- 
operative housework, did his share faithfully, 
but with such a pathetic lack of enthusiasm 
that I set about simplifying his task. While 
foraging for ideas I discovered paper bag 
cookery, and, lo! those bogies, greasy pans, 
skulked shamefacedly out of sight. I use No. 
3 bag for roasting occasionally, but 'tis No. 2 
which I find most useful for cooking small 
pieces of meat or fish and in which to warm 



PERSONALITIES AND PAPER 17 

over rolls, doughnuts, etc. Lamb chops are a 
luxury with us, but when we do indulge we 
approach them with glowing anticipation, for 
we have a de luoce edition. Kidney chops are 
cut double thickness, are cooked thirty minutes 
in a paper bag which has been well buttered 
inside, with the result that they are the most 
luscious juicy morsels you ever tasted. 

Another minute-saver was discovered in a 
package of cake-tin papers which come cut to 
fit the pan. While on the subject of cake and 
paper jot down this suggestion: when baking 
cake, cookies, or bread in a hot oven, slip an 
asbestos mat under the pan. Many a heart- 
ache, caused by the blackened bottom of an 
otherwise delectable loaf, may be saved by this 
method. 

In the kitchen was installed a roll of paper 
toweling, which, with its nickel fixture, cost 
$1.75. These are used for hand towels. After 
using they are tossed into a waste basket under 
the table and, when I want to wipe a spot 
from floor, table, or range, when I lift a hot 
pan or kettle cover, I take a towel from the 
basket. I also discovered that when used to rub 



18 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

up boots or shoes they worked like a magic 
brush; but I felt that the acme of the utility 
of the paper towel had been reached when, one 
rainy day, I saw the Crown Prince, to whose 
care had been assigned the floors, carefully 
wiping his dog's feet with one before allowing 
the astounded and aggrieved animal to enter 
the house. Such is the beneficent and magical 
result of having each member of the family 
share in the housework. 

Paper cups have proved a boon in which to 
serve cool, refreshing drinks to our evening 
guests on the veranda. The morning after we 
are not confronted by a row of soiled glasses 
turning reproachful, dingy eyes upon us; in- 
stead the cups used the night before have mer- 
rily kindled the morning fire. Some day pre- 
pare the following concoction ; so delicious is it 
that your friends will neither know nor care 
whether it be served in Venetian glass or ple- 
beian paper cups. 

Squeeze the juice from four lemons into a 
glass pitcher. Add two more lemons sliced 
very thin; two cups of sugar and a bunch of 
fresh mint — the juice of an orange also, if you 



PERSONALITIES AND PAPER 19 

have it. When ready to serve add three bottles 
of ginger ale and three of Apollinaris water 
which have been thoroughly chilled. 

One likes something to nibble with a cold 
drink, so when there is sour cream on hand we 
have the following cookies in the larder. Cream 
one half cup of butter and one cup of sugar; 
add one well-beaten egg and one half cup of 
sour cream into which has been stirred one 
quarter teaspoon of sifted soda. Sift two and 
a half cups of flour with three and a half level 
teaspoons of baking powder and beat well into 
first mixture. Add one teaspoon of vanilla. 
Drop from teaspoon in small rounds on but- 
tered tin. Sprinkle with grated cocoanut and 
bake in hot oven. 

As Brownies always call forth a round of 
applause, I record here the formula for their 
manufacture, which is the result of much ex- 
perimenting. Mix one cup of sugar; one quar- 
ter cup of melted butter; one egg unbeaten; 
two squares of Baker's chocolate, melted ; three 
quarters teaspoon of vanilla; one half cup of 
sifted flour ; one half cup of walnut meats cut 
in pieces. Mix ingredients in order given. 



20 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

Line a seven-inch pan with paraffine paper, 
spread mixture evenly, and bake in slow oven. 
The proof of your success in making the 
above delicacies will not lie in the eating but in 
the number of times you are asked for their 
recipes. 



CHAPTER TWO: RECKONING-DAY 
DISHES 



CHAPTER II 

RECKONING-DAY DISHES 

The domestic wheels ran smoothly. A 
neighbor who needed a little extra money came 
in early every morning, filled the lamps and 
put the front of the house in order from top 
to bottom. This being vacation, the Head of 
the House was gardener and out-door man; 
the Crown Prince, measuring eighteen years, 
six feet and one inch, attended to the floors 
and windows, while the Youngest Member 
waited upon table and took care of the dishes. 
I reigned supreme in the kitchen, having at 
this late date, I confess it to my shame, just 
discovered that the theater tickets for which I 
had longed; books which the Head of the 
House had coveted; sundry sorts of luxuries 
and pleasures which we had denied ourselves, 
had been carried out the back door in the 
kitchen waste. 

23 



24 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

Now an elaborate system of accounts would 
whiten my hair and turn the edge of my tem- 
per, but I keep a card index box in the kitchen 
in which I register every cent spent in that de- 
partment. In these days, when food prices are 
emulating the aviators in their skyward nights, 
the housekeeper who does not cater on a stipu- 
lated allowance is steering her domestic ship 
straight for financial reefs. 

Every week has its day of reckoning; the 
day when I realize that I must slow up or the 
week's appropriation will be spent before its 
time; 'tis then that I play that absorbingly 
interesting game "Use What You Have." 

To play fairly one cannot open an expensive 
can of something, which if credited will make 
a big hole in the week's expenditure, but one 
must use one's imagination, skill and ingenuity 
in fashioning into tempting meals the provi- 
sions on hand. 

For instance, suppose that my larder offers 
only cold lamb. Lacking the courage to serve 
it again "as is," I cut it into as uniform pieces 
as possible, place these in a baking dish with 
alternate layers of cooked macaroni and over 




ss 



<.-3-C 



RECKONING-DAY DISHES 25 

each layer pour tomato sauce. The top is cov- 
ered with buttered crumbs and the dish is then 
heated in the oven till the sauce bubbles around 
the edges. 

Or perchance I line a mold with rice which 
has been boiled in salted water, fill the cavity 
with lamb which has been chopped and mixed 
with enough brown sauce and mushrooms to 
make it quite moist. Cover the top with rice, 
cover this with a plate, set the mold in hot 
water in the oven and bake until the mixture 
has been thoroughly heated. Unmold on a lace 
paper doily, garnish with sprays of parsley, 
and the result will be both tempting and de- 
licious. 

Left-over beef is most palatable made into 
a loaf. Soak one tablespoon of gelatine in 
one-half cup of cold water ten minutes. Heat 
three-quarters cup of well-seasoned stewed to- 
matoes to boiling and pour over the gelatine, 
stirring well till gelatine is dissolved. Have 
ready two cups chopped and seasoned meat 
mixed with one tablespoon of lemon juice; stir 
the tomato into the meat mixture and mold in 
an earthen dish. 



26 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

Sometimes I have yolks of eggs on hand. 
Into these I break more eggs, beat them 
slightly, add a tablespoon of milk for each 
egg and yolk, season with salt and pepper, and 
turn the mixture into a frying pan in which a 
tablespoon of butter is bubbling. When the 
mixture begins to cook around the edges of 
the pan, slip a fork from the center under the 
cooked part, thus allowing the liquid to run in 
under. This makes a thick, plump, tender 
omelette. Before folding the omelette I spread 
it with two tablespoons of tomato chutney, or 
pour around it a hot cream sauce in which has 
been heated a few asparagus tips; sometimes 
I use celery salt for flavor, or grated cheese, 
or a bit of finely minced ham ; in fact, there is 
no limit to the variety of delicious omelettes 
one can make. They are most satisfactory 
when made in this way, but do not give the 
family one of those leathery concoctions filled 
with frothy, tasteless whites of eggs, and ex- 
pect them to consider themselves fed. 

Oftentimes the eggs are scrambled and 
served on toast which has been spread with 
anchovy paste. If I have creamed chipped 



RECKONING-DAY DISHES 27 

beef left over, it is reheated and, when piping 
hot, is served on muffins which have been sliced 
and toasted. 

A bit of cold fish is transformed into a satis- 
fying dish by the addition of cream sauce, cubes 
of cold potatoes and slices of hard-boiled eggs. 
This is put in a baking dish, covered with but- 
tered crumbs, and baked till the top is a light 
brown. 

Perhaps my depleted cupboard offers only 
bread and cheese and milk ; 'tis then that I con- 
coct a dish which, because of two of its in- 
gredients, the family have flippantly dubbed 
"Love in a Cottage." But they like it, and it 
is made thus : Melt three level tablespoons of 
butter ; cook in it one and one-half tablespoons 
of flour; one-fourth teaspoon each of salt and 
paprika and a mere suggestion of cayenne. 
When bubbling, stir in three-quarters cup of 
milk ; stir until boiling, then set over hot water 
and stir in three-quarters cup of grated cheese. 
Continue stirring till cheese is melted and the 
whole is of a creamy consistency, then pour 
over toast. If there happens to be a slice of 
pimiento lurking in a secluded corner of the 



28 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

refrigerator, it is chopped fine and used as a 
garnish on the cheese toast. A touch of color 
will often prove like the touch of a whip to a 
flagging appetite. 

Left-over vegetables, which have been thor- 
oughly chilled and daintily cut, when mixed 
with French dressing, make a delicious salad, 
and, should there happen to be some cream 
cheese at hand, it is mixed with a little cream, 
a few chopped nuts, and rolled into balls which 
are then lightly sprinkled with paprika. Figs 
stuffed with this same cheese mixture make a 
salad accessory which will cause even an as- 
cetic's eyes to blink. 

In my garden, wherever it may be, whether 
it be large or small, there is always a plant of 
mint. One of my favorite Reckoning-Day 
salads is made by shredding the coarse, outer 
leaves of the lettuce with scissors, carefully 
arranging upon this round slices of juicy, 
seedless oranges, over which is poured French 
dressing to which has been added a suspicion 
of sugar. The whole is then dusted over with 
finely powdered, fresh mint. All the ingredi- 



RECKONING-DAY DISHES 29 

ents must be fresh and cold, or the result will 
be a dismal failure. 

In attractive, screw-top glass jars I keep 
the following sauces which have proved to be 
a refuge and a strength in times of emergency : 

Brown Sauce — Brown two tablespoons of 
butter — be careful not to burn — cook in this a 
slice of onion, a slice of carrot, a bit of pars- 
ley and a fragment of bay leaf. Let these 
brown in fat, stirring constantly. Add three 
level tablespoons of flour, a quarter teaspoon 
of salt, an eighth teaspoon of pepper. Con- 
tinue stirring and cooking till the flour turns 
reddish brown, then add cup of beef broth or 
chicken stock, cook until smooth and boiling, 
then strain. This sauce allows of infinite vari- 
ations. To it may be added olives cut in rings 
■ — this goes well with warmed-over game — or 
capers, mushrooms or strained tomatoes. 

White Sauce — Melt two tablespoons of butter 
in a small saucepan, add two tablespoons of 
flour, one-quarter teaspoon of salt, one-quarter 
teaspoon of pepper. Stir until blended, then 
add one cup of milk. Stir constantly till mix- 
ture boils and is thick and smooth. The use 



30 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

of cream instead of milk and the addition of a 
teaspoon of lemon juice and a shake or two of 
celery salt makes a delicious sauce for chicken. 

Tomato Sauce — Add a slice of onion to the 
tomatoes from one can and cook fifteen min- 
utes. Blend three tablespoons of butter and 
the three tablespoons of flour in a saucepan. 
When boiling, strain into the mixture the hot 
tomatoes, add one-half teaspoon of salt, one- 
quarter teaspoon of pepper. Cook until boil- 
ing, smooth and thick, which result can only 
be obtained by constant stirring. Use this 
with macaroni or rice, around omelettes, corned 
beef hash, chops or steak. The sauces may 
be reheated by setting the glass jars in hot 
water on the range. It should be stirred, that 
the sauce may retain its smoothness. 

French Dressing — Six tablespoons of olive 
oil, four tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar, 
one-half teaspoon of salt, one-quarter teaspoon 
of pepper, one-quarter teaspoon of paprika, a 
speck of cayenne. Mix dry ingredients first; 
stir into these the oil slowly, then add lemon 
juice or vinegar. Mix thoroughly; shake well 
before serving. This dressing may be varied 



RECKONING-DAY DISHES 31 

by adding a little French mustard to the dry 
ingredients before adding oil and vinegar. 

Mayonnaise Dressing — One-quarter tea- 
spoon paprika, one-half teaspoon of salt, few 
grains of cayenne. Mix these ingredients and 
into them beat the yolks of two eggs until 
mixture thickens a little. Add slowly two 
tablespoons lemon juice and two tablespoons 
of vinegar. With an egg beater beat in olive 
oil a teaspoon at a time at first, then increase 
to tablespoon at a time till two cupfuls have 
been used. Beat constantly till full amount 
of oil has been added. Put in glass jar and 
keep in refrigerator, but not on ice — the mix- 
ture must not freeze. Should the dressing 
separate while making or afterwards, put a 
yolk of egg in a bowl, add a few drops of oil 
while beating, then add the mayonnaise a little 
at a time, when it will come smooth and thick 
again. Add chopped gherkins, capers and 
olives to mayonnaise and it becomes Sauce 
Tartarre, to be served with fried fish. By 
the addition of tomato chutney or catchup it 
makes a delicious dressing for a vegetable 



32 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

salad; grated horseradish also makes a varia- 
tion when the dressing is to be served with fish. 
As catering is one of the homemaker's most 
enduring and insistent problems, I consider 
my kitchen a laboratory wherein I experiment, 
experiment. Having the courage to dare and 
try new combinations lifts cooking out of the 
slough of monotony. 



CHAPTER THREE: THE TOOLS OF 
YOUR TRADE 



CHAPTER, III 

THE TOOLS OE YOUE TRADE 

The trouble began early one morning. I 
was vigorously beating the ingredients for 
muffins when the bowl separated and a thin 
stream of batter enriched the front of my im- 
maculate white apron. I had known that the 
bowl was cracked, but had taken a chance. 
Later I tried to froth eggs with a beater which 
balked at every third turn of its handle. Be- 
cause I had left my spectacles upstairs I read 
a recipe wrong, with the result that at the end 
of four hours, when I wanted to serve it, I had 
a gently flowing rivulet in place of the firm 
jelly I expected. 

My crowning culinary mishap came in the 
baking of a cake. There was a refractory 
damper in the range, but I had put off having 
it repaired. In consequence the cake presented 
an appearance of deep-seated dejection when 

35 



36 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

I removed it from the oven. Craving appre- 
ciation, I called the Judge, our black and white 
hound, and crumpled a few fragments of the 
alleged cake into his dish. The dog gave one 
disdainful sniff at the offering, one reproach- 
ful glance at me, then turned and stalked 
haughtily from the room. He was so funny 
in his repudiation that I laughed until I cried. 
This relieved the tension of my feelings, and 
I abandoned the kitchen and its disappoint- 
ments for the sewing-room. 

It was quite evident that my sins of omis- 
sion had me at the end of their leash that day, 
for when I attempted to sew on a few buttons 
I found that number 90 was the only thread 
my basket afforded. Then I tried cutting chif- 
fon with shears as dull as an abstract on Cur- 
rency, and later turned my piece box upside 
down, hunting for a scrap of lawn with which 
to mend. 

As though to test my domestic equipment 
as well as my temper, the mail brought a re- 
quest for an article to be sent by parcel post. 
I hunted for twine, only to find short pieces in 
endless variety, no two alike. The wrapping 



THE TOOLS OF YOUR TRADE 37 

paper could be accredited to the same class, 
and when I came to the point where I must ad- 
dress my very untidy, disreputable-looking 
package, the ink-well was empty and my favor- 
ite pen was apparently taking an afternoon 
off. It was just here that I reached that emo- 
tional stage so almost universal with the femi- 
nine portion of humanity, a desire to scold 
some one or cry. Having indulged myself in 
the latter pastime with royal prodigality and 
in consequence feeling horribly ashamed of my- 
self, I picked up the morning paper. 

The first words on the page which greeted 
my eyes were: "You can do no efficient work 
without the tools of your trade." "The tools 
of your trade!" my mind echoed dully. Why, 
at the very root of all the trouble of my tire- 
some day lay the lack of proper tools ! Would 
the Head of the House attempt to carry on 
his business without proper equipment ? Would 
any workman who stood for efficiency? All 
that evening, paper and pencil in hand, I 
chewed the cud of reflection. The next morn- 
ing I started for the city. 

That was two weeks ago. Now a fireless 



38 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

cooker, a bread-slicer — we as a family are ad- 
dicted to sandwiches — and a bread-mixer sim- 
plify my work and save my time and energy. 
The white enameled shelves of my pantry, 
where I cook, hold no unnecessary or imperfect 
utensil. 

The cereals are in glass jars, labeled. In a 
neat pile, close at hand, are large sheets of 
light brown wrapping paper, one of which is 
spread on the table when I am cooking, then, 
when the work is finished, the paper is gathered 
up and burned, leaving the table spicky-span 
beneath it. The cookbooks in their washable 
slip covers of white linen are in a glass-inclosed 
shelf within easy reach. Fastened securely to 
that same shelf is a spectacle case containing 
an extra pair of eyes which never leave the 
kitchen, and on top of the shelf is a card index 
box in which are kept the recipes collected 
from various sources. About on the level of 
the eyes on another shelf is a clip for holding 
the recipe card when in use, and the cookbook 
is kept open and clean, when being used, by a 
small pane of glass with bound edges. 

Securely attached by long fine brass chains 



THE TOOLS OF YOUR TRADE 39 

to my work bench — that they may not be taken 
away — are scissors, a small tack-hammer — 'tis 
wonderful how many uses I find for that — a 
can-opener, a corkscrew, and a bottle-opener. 

The well-sharpened knives, the forks and 
spoons which are used in cooking are separated 
and kept in pasteboard box covers on a con- 
venient shelf. As soon as they become in the 
least soiled these covers are replaced. An 
office stool stands in the pantry and another 
before the kitchen sink. Over the sink hangs 
a mirror and on the shelf below there is a 
bottle of soothing cream for the hands, a face- 
chamois and powder. Why leave the kitchen 
with one's nose shining and glowing like a 
beacon light, when a few simple toilet acces- 
sories make for comfort and presentability? 

For the sewing-room was purchased a cheap, 
commodious chest of drawers in which are kept 
materials that would fit out a miniature thread 
and needle store. The minutes and carfares 
which have been saved by having these articles 
on hand have more than paid for the equip- 
ment. In the lower drawer is an assortment 
of wrapping paper from the thinnest of tissue 



40 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

to the stoutest brown and white, twine of the 
most aristocratic down to the proletariat class, 
and rolls of ribbon suitable for dainty pack- 
ages. 

It was on my own particular writing desk 
that I lavished imagination and ingenuity. 
This piece of furniture is not of the claw- 
legged, ornate variety, but is a substantial oak 
table desk, with four roomy drawers at either 
end and a broad, inviting top covered with 
blotting paper. Here one can find stationery 
from the business kind to that for social re- 
quirements; visiting cards with envelopes to 
fit ; a supply of postal cards ; two cent, one cent 
and special delivery stamps ; stamped envelopes 
ranging from the manuscript to the ordinary 
business size, and a pair of scales for weighing. 

There is a veritable Jacob's well of black 
ink and pens and holders in infinite variety. 
There is also a well of red ink which I have 
found invaluable for entering certain garden 
dates in my diary. Social events I record in 
blue, and birthdays and festal occasions in gold 
ink, therefore my diary takes on the charm of 
an illuminated missal of olden times. 



THE TOOLS OF YOUR TRADE 41 

Between book ends there is a dictionary — 
spellers are made, not born, in our family — a 
book of synonyms, familiar quotations, a Bible 
and a small atlas. On the desk top also lies a 
calendar, an engagement book, tubes of paste 
and glue; boxes of paper clips and fasteners, 
rulers and erasers. There is a card index box 
in which is kept a complete record of general 
expenditures, school, church, investment and 
insurance, dates and notes on garden planting 
and the various items, a familiarity with which 
on the part of the purchasing agent and gen- 
eral manager of the house tends to an increase 
in her efficiency and that of the domestic ma- 
chinery. 

There are colored tags which I use when 
putting away clothing — each member of the 
family has a color — and in traveling I have 
found them most useful. Tag trunks with 
green and it takes but a moment to pick them 
out from a mass of baggage. 

Such appealing articles as sharp shears, a 
letter opener, a large magnifying glass are 
chained to the desk. 'Tis not that the family 
do not intend to return these implements when 



42 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

they borrow, dear no, but a lapse of memory 
might cause me great inconvenience, as my 
moments for desk work are not so many that I 
have time to hunt up articles when I reach it. 

It was amusing to see how the idea of pro- 
visioning the domestic garrison to withstand a 
siege of industry spread through the family. 
It became epidemic, with the result that each 
one of us did his work with more interest, ease 
and speed. 

While the family take kindly to my innova- 
tions, successful and otherwise, they enjoy 
good-naturedly jeering at some of them, and 
the boys thought that the height of absurd 
suggestion had been reached when they pre- 
sented me with a cork bulletin board for the 
den. But what a joy it has proved! If a 
telephone message comes for an absent mem- 
ber a note of it is pinned to the board. Our 
goings-out and comings-in are here chronicled 
— 'tis a courteous habit we have grown up 
with, that of keeping the family posted as to 
our plans — and many anxious moments it has 
saved — errands to be done are posted; repairs 



THE TOOLS OF YOUR TRADE 43 

to be made and workmen to be telephoned for 
are here listed; in fact, this little joke on 
Mother has proved to be the Good Genie of 
the house. 



CHAPTER FOUR: FOR A SIMPLE 
AND SANE SUNDAY 



CHAPTER IV 

FOR A SIMPLE AND SANE SUNDAY 

The sun was transforming the ocean to a 
shimmering sea of sapphires. A little balsam- 
scented breeze frolicked and flirted tantaliz- 
ingly past the windows; earth, sea and sky 
seemed coaxing and imploring me to come 
forth and join in their revels, and I — I was 
cooking a hot dinner in a hotter kitchen on this 
glorious Sunday. 

Enter the Head of the House. "Why," de- 
manded he, standing in the fairly temperate 
zone provided by the outer door, "Why should 
you spend the best part of Sunday in the 
kitchen, preparing a dinner, and I the choicest 
hours of my weekly out-of-door day eating it? 
With what results? You are tired and I am 
heavy and sleepy after a hearty meal in the 
middle of the day. The arrangement is all 
wrong !" 

47 



48 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

Now the normal masculine mind has a good, 
sound, logical, common-sense outlook on af- 
fairs domestic, if the homemaker will but ad- 
mit it. No sentimentality disturbs its sense of 
proportion, so I pondered well his observation. 
He was quite right and I was wrong in my 
expenditure of time and strength. With a 
smiling "My lord, thy servant thanks thee!" 
I dismissed the six feet of wisdom from my 
kitchen door and began a study of my problem. 

By Monday night, per order of the Head 
of the House, carpenters had replaced the or- 
dinary kitchen windows with full-length case- 
ments, which when opened out admitted air that 
made a marvelous change in the temperature 
of the room, and I had a plan for simplifying 
Sunday. 

On Saturday I make out the three menus 
for Sunday, then proceed to prepare every- 
thing possible. In warm weather our lunch- 
eon is taken on a large tray to the veranda or 
out under the trees, and in winter to the living- 
room before the open fire. Served in this way, 
the simplest viands take on an appetizing se- 
ductiveness which is unknown when one sits 



SIMPLE AND SANE SUNDAY 49 

prosaically at table. This informal meal usu- 
ally consists of soup in cups, sandwiches, cake 
and fruit. 

Tomato bouillon is one of our favorite Sun- 
day soups, as it can be made -at any time in the 
week if kept very cold until used. To the 
stock, in which a fowl or two have been boiled, 
add the bones of the fowl after meat has been 
removed, and half or all the tomatoes from 
one can. Cook this slowly for three hours, 
then strain and cool. When cold remove fat 
and put stock, which has been seasoned with 
salt and pepper and mixed with the beaten 
whites of two eggs, in kettle on range. Let 
the mixture boil hard for three minutes, then 
simmer for twenty more. Strain through 
cheese cloth, and you have a concoction which 
will tempt the most Epicurean palate among 
your acquaintances. 

When it comes to sandwiches their name is 
legion, but we particularly like those filled with 
chopped tongue or ham, or ham and chicken 
mixed with this dressing : Mix one tablespoon 
of salt, one-half tablespoon of mustard, one 
heaping tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon 



50 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

of flour thoroughly. Add the yolks of two 
eggs, slightly beaten, three tablespoons melted 
butter, three-quarters cup of milk and a quar- 
ter of a cup of vinegar. Cook in double boiler, 
stirring constantly till mixture thickens. Strain 
and cool. This dressing keeps in a cool place, 
and some of it is used later in the week with 
cold fish, which, by the addition of the coarser 
leaves of the lettuce shredded, becomes not only 
a delicious salad but an ornamental one as well, 
as it is garnished with egg. 'Tis marvelous 
what dignity a hard-boiled egg, when admin- 
istered with imagination, will lend to the 
humblest culinary effort. 

But to return to luncheon. For dessert we 
have cake or tarts, or, better still, filled cookies 
which are proclaimed by strangers and inti- 
mates alike toothsome morsels. To make them 
take one cup of sugar, one-half cup of short- 
ening — chicken fat is excellent — one egg, one- 
half cup of milk, three and one-half cups of 
flour with which has been sifted two teaspoons 
of cream of tartar and one teaspoon of soda, 
one teaspoon of vanilla. Roll the dough into a 
thin sheet and cut with cooky cutter. Spread 



SIMPLE AND SANE SUNDAY 51 

one round with filling and place another over 
it. Bake in hot oven. The filling may be of 
jelly, jam, or it is delectable when made of 
raisins thus : Take one cup of chopped raisins, 
one-half cup of sugar, one-half cup of water, 
two teaspoons lemon juice; one tablespoon of 
flour. Boil mixture till thick. 

Supper — we have no dinner on Sunday — is 
served at seven. Sometimes we have cold 
meats, alternate slices of ham, beef and chicken 
served with vegetable salad, or perhaps some 
member of the Newburg family cooked in the 
chafing-dish, either lobster, chicken or shrimp. 
The latter is easily prepared and is delicious. 
Put the beaten yolks of two eggs mixed with 
a cup of thick cream in the chafing-dish over 
hot water. Stir constantly until thick, then 
add whatever fish or meat you are using. Heat 
thoroughly, add a wineglass of sherry, salt and 
a suspicion of cayenne. The mixture must not 
boil, but should be hot — not lukewarm, hot! 
Serve on thin crackers or crisp toast. With 
this course we have thin bread and butter. 
Muffins are taboo Sunday night — they mean 
too much work for the cook. 



52 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

For the second course we have salad with 
French dressing. The dressing is made on 
Saturday and is put in a glass jar which will 
admit of vigorous shaking. Lettuce with cubes 
of pineapple, or round slices over which has 
been grated cream cheese; lettuce and grape- 
fruit garnished with strips of pimiento ; lettuce 
and asparagus tips; California cherries filled 
with cream cheese and arranged on lettuce are 
some of the luscious combinations which bring 
a gastronomic glitter to the eye. For richer 
salads there are peeled and chilled whole to- 
matoes filled with chopped pecan nuts and 
tender celery mixed with mayonnaise, which 
are served on lettuce hearts; there are peeled 
bananas covered with mayonnaise, then with 
chopped nuts, which, served on lettuce, are 
more than satisfying. Then there is a chif- 
fonade dressing made of two tablespoons of 
finely chopped parsley, two tablespoons of 
finely chopped red pepper, one teaspoon of 
finely chopped chives, one teaspoon of salt, 
one-half teaspoon of black pepper, one-fourth 
teaspoon of paprika, a suggestion of cayenne, 
five tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons 



SIMPLE AND SANE SUNDAY 53 

of vinegar. This is delicious on lettuce and 
when served with that and toasted cheese sand- 
wiches is almost a meal in itself. 

For dessert we have jelly or custards, any 
sweet, in fact, which may be prepared the day 
before. Orange meringues are favorites, and 
if made well fairly melt in the mouth. To 
make filling for these, mix four tablespoons of 
flour, one cup of sugar, add two eggs slightly 
beaten, grated rind and juice of an orange, 
one tablespoon lemon juice and one teaspoon 
of butter. Cook in double boiler, stirring con- 
stantly as one would a custard. Turn the mix- 
ture into individual, thin pastry shells which 
have been previously baked, cover with mer- 
ingue and bake until slightly brown. For the 
meringue take the whites of two eggs beaten 
until stiff, four tablespoons of powdered 
sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla. 

If we are having a vegetable salad, for the 
last course we have fruit served in tall, cool- 
looking glasses. Take three or four fruits 
which are in season — there is almost no limit 
to the variety — cut in cubes, sugar lightly and 
chill thoroughly before serving. After the 



54 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

fruit is in the glasses and just before serving, 
pour over it melted marshmallows and add one 
or two Maraschino cherries; or, if you feel 
particularly reckless and extravagant, add to 
the mixture some preserved marrons. We 
bring our feast to a close in the living-room, 
where coffee and nuts are served. 

This arrangement of meals has resulted not 
only in a saving of labor, but of money as 
well. Sunday has become a day of compara- 
tive leisure for me; the Head of the House 
gets the sunshine he craves and, best of all, 
we have no Monday Morning Moods to com- 
bat. No one has had too much food with too 
little exercise; that combination which, I have 
observed, is quite sure to start on a rampage 
those Monday morning imps, Indigestion, Ir- 
ritation and Inefficiency. 



CHAPTER FIVE: AND NOW TO 
BREAKFAST! 



CHAPTER V 

AND NOW TO BREAKFAST! 

During the reign of Mary the Tempera- 
mental the kitchen was a gloomy place in the 
morning. Now peals of laughter floating up- 
wards rouse the laggard and hurry him down 
to join in the fun, for the food laboratory has 
become the most popular room in the house. 

Both boys, in anticipation of camping trips 
into the wilderness, have learned to make, and 
make them well, omelettes, corn-cake, baking 
powder biscuit, coffee and cocoa ; they can also 
cook bacon and chops and scramble eggs. The 
Judge, who is not allowed within the precincts 
during cooking lessons, sits on his haunches at 
the outer edge, one black ear erect, one flop- 
ping dejectedly, watching the proceedings and 
occasionally sniffing appreciatively as the sa- 
vory aroma of bacon assails his nostrils. 

As breakfast is the meal which requires the 

57 



58 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

most ingenuity on the part of the homemaker, 
I summon to my aid all the help possible in 
the way of accessories. In the center of the 
breakfast table is a bowl of yellow blossoms, 
the size varying with the season and its toll for 
flowers. There are white doilies on the bare 
table and the breakfast china is white, with a 
spray of delicate yellow flowers. There are 
two cream jugs and two sugar bowls of a clear, 
soft yellow ware ; a dainty glass dish of golden 
marmalade, and at each place halves of grape- 
fruit or orange. The impression received as 
one enters the dining-room is of a sunshiny 
breakfast table even though the day be dark 
and lowering. 

By the kitchen window grow nasturtiums 
in a box — in the winter inside, in the summer 
out — that I may have the leaves of this hardy 
plant to lay beside the fruit on the plate. They 
give a vivid, refreshing touch and make the 
simplest meal seem like a party. 

As the Head of the House has paid us the 
compliment of never acquiring the buried- 
behind-the-newspaper-at-breakfast habit, and 
as he insists that only animals feed and that 



AND NOW TO BREAKFAST! 59 

humans should be able to take their meals lei- 
surely, conversation flourishes and the day 
starts out with merriment and good comrade- 
ship. 

To carry out the yellow and white color 
scheme I should, of course, insist upon a morn- 
ing diet of eggs. Alas! My men folk re- 
fuse to be laid upon the sacrificial altar of my 
love of color and demand the prosaic chop — 
cut double thickness and cooked in a paper 
bag — or Hamburg steak, with which they en- 
joy a crisp little sausage; corned beef hash 
which is moistened with beef stock before 
browning, or perhaps broiled fish or calf's liver. 
This latter dish has acquired popularity since 
we have had it cooked in the following way: 
Cut a pound of calf's liver into slices and 
cover with boiling water; drain; wipe with 
cloth and chop fine. Melt a heaping tablespoon 
of butter in a saucepan and add three table- 
spoons of boiling water; into this put the liver, 
cover, and let simmer one hour, stirring occa- 
sionally. Season with paprika and salt, mix 
thoroughly and serve on rounds of toast. 



60 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

This is a particularly delectable dish to serve 
with baked potatoes. 

Creamed finnan haddie is also delicious with 
potatoes; then sometimes, when the family 
craves fish, I pile flakes of snowy boiled cod, 
haddock or halibut on a platter, give it a liberal, 
very liberal, covering of cream sauce, over that 
sprinkle buttered crumbs, and brown it in the 
oven. When it emerges piping hot it is a dish 
which would tempt the most exacting. 

Chipped beef and cream is an easily pre- 
pared offering, and when the beef is cut very 
fine with scissors and the whole concoction 
poured around a mound of scrambled eggs, it 
appeals even to the hypercritical. 

If there is a left-over of rare roast beef it is 
cut in thick slices, delicately broiled, seasoned 
with salt, pepper, melted butter and finely 
chopped parsley, and is served with corn frit- 
ters and cosily curled up strips of bacon. To 
make the corn fritters, beat one egg till light; 
add one cup of corn pulp — canned or fresh — 
and one-third cup of milk. Sift one-half cup 
of pastry flour, one-half teaspoon of baking- 
powder, one-half teaspoon of salt, and beat 



AND NOW TO BREAKFAST! 61 

thoroughly into first mixture. Fry as griddle 
cakes. 

When it becomes necessary to serve cold 
meat for breakfast, candied sweet potatoes is 
the most satisfactory dish to have with it. 
Slice six boiled and peeled sweet potatoes in 
rounds into buttered baking-dish. Sprinkle 
each layer with brown sugar, using one cupful 
altogether. Pour over it one-half cup of 
melted butter in which has been added two 
tablespoons of boiling water. Cook in hot 
oven, basting often with butter in dish, till it 
becomes like sirup. 

Of course we have eggs occasionally, so I 
rack my brain for a variety of ways to serve 
them, sometimes making a distinct hit with my 
experiments — at others, well, the failures will 
not be recorded here. 

Dropped eggs served on toast over which 
has first been poured tomato sauce, the whole 
garnished with curls of bacon and sprays of 
parsley, always proves appetizing. Some- 
times on rounds of toast are placed paper-thin 
slices of broiled ham — the cooked ham which 
one may buy at the market is the best for this 



62 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

— this in turn is crowned with dropped eggs. 
Just before serving Hollandaise sauce in 
plenty is poured around the toast; of course 
garnished with parsley. A dish without some 
green embellishment is as out of place at the 
breakfast table as a man without a collar. 
Creamed celery around toast upon which eggs 
are served is also a delicious combination. 

Then there are omelettes of all sizes, flavors 
and nationalities, and there is golden toast 
made by heating the diced whites of hard- 
boiled eggs in cream sauce, pouring this mix- 
ture over toast, and adding the crowning glow 
by grating the yolks of the eggs over the 
whole. 

Cereals are put on to cook the night before 
in the fireless cooker, and very stimulating it 
is for the cook, when she comes down in the 
morning, to be able to help herself to a nice 
little dish of deliciously cooked cereal, liberally 
bedewed with the thickest of the cream, before 
commencing the day's work. After breakfast 
any cereal left over is turned into a small size 
baking-powder tin. When occasion arises to 
use the left over, the tin is set in boiling water 



AND NOW TO BREAKFAST! 63 

and when the cereal appears upon the table in 
little round, hot slices it is most appetizing. 
These same slices delicately browned in butter 
and served hot with maple sirup are decidedly 
toothsome. 

We rarely have muffins for breakfast, for 
when I do make them the request is sure to 
come that they be sliced and served cold and 
lightly buttered for luncheon or supper, and 
they are more tasteful that way. Toast is the 
breakfast bread most enjoyed in our house- 
hold; perhaps because there is always jam, 
marmalade or honey served with it. 

When I arise early and feel unusually ven- 
turesome and daring I make pop-overs for 
breakfast in this way: Beat two eggs light; 
add two cups of milk and beat constantly 
while adding two cups of pastry flour and one- 
half teaspoon of salt which have been sifted 
together. Butter the cups of an iron gem 
pan and into each cup put one teaspoon of 
melted butter, then pour the mixture into them. 
Bake in a moderate oven thirty-five minutes. 
This recipe makes a dozen muffins. If they 
are a success there will be none too many; if 



64 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

they are not, you will have just twelve more 
than you need. There are no degrees of ex- 
cellence in pop-overs ; they are good or they are 
impossible. 

We enjoy bran muffins when cold and sliced 
more than any others. Mix and sift one cup 
of flour, one teaspoon of soda and one teaspoon 
of salt. Add two cups of bran, one and one- 
quarter cups of milk, and one-half cup of 
molasses. Beat thoroughly and bake in but- 
tered gem tins, having placed strips of date on 
each muffin top before placing in oven. 

The time and thought spent on the first meal 
of the day is the most momentous expenditure 
in the twenty- four hours. Start the members 
of the family off to office or school, after an 
appetizing, nourishing breakfast, with a kiss 
and a Godspeed, and the clouds of fortune 
must roll up very heavy, dark and threatening 
before they can spoil the day which has begun 
so happily. 



CHAPTER SIX: OUR INVALID 
NEIGHBOR 



CHAPTER VI 

OUR INVALID NEIGHBOR 

After we had become friendly with the fam- 
ily across the way and had visited the invalid 
we named her room The Abode of the Princess. 
Every comfort which love and thought could 
procure without much expenditure — alas, there 
was little money to use ! — was there. The walls 
were of a soft cafe-aulait color, while muslin 
curtains of the same delicate tint draped the 
windows. They told me the secret of those 
curtains. White ones had been dipped in 
water which had been colored with coffee until 
the desired shade had been obtained. 

The hard pine floor, which had been stained 
and waxed, had soft-toned rugs, small enough 
to be easily and often taken out into the sun 
and air. There were few pictures on the walls 
and no ornaments anywhere. The room gave 
one a sense of restfulness as soon as one en- 
tered it. 

67 



68 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

There was a wicker chair in the sunny win- 
dow, but near at hand a light screen with 
bamboo frame stood ready to be pulled into 
place to shelter the invalid from breeze or sun. 
There were a few tiny pillows which when 
needed could be tucked behind a tired back, 
and there was a footstool in front of the chair. 

A small white enameled towel rack, such as 
one sees in a nursery, stood on castors within 
easy reach. On this were arranged the wraps 
of the Princess; a soft, woolly thing to throw 
over her knees; a dainty knitted jacket and a 
flimsy scarf gave variety for different temper- 
atures. 

A light table, high enough to allow her knees 
below it, was fitted out with every conceivable 
requisite for writing. There was stationery 
from grave to gay; a fountain pen; stamps; 
pencils ; pencil sharpener and penknife ; eraser ; 
scissors; tubes of paste and glue, and a card 
index box in which to file clippings. There 
was a dictionary and a calendar and there was 
even a finger bowl half filled with water and 
a dainty towel for restoring pasty fingers to 
a state of smooth efficiency. 



OUR INVALID NEIGHBOR 69 

Another table of the same kind held toilet 
accessories that the invalid might beautify and 
refresh to her heart's content without using an 
ounce of her carefully conserved strength 
searching for materials. Beside the bed on a 
small table was an electric night lamp, a ther- 
mos bottle for cold, water — perhaps for a hot 
drink — a glass and a clock with an almost 
soundless tick. 

A completely equipped work basket made 
the Princess a person of great importance and 
kept her in constant demand, for the family 
flew to her when a refractory button journeyed 
off into space or a garment required the pro- 
verbial stitch in time. There were no fingers 
quite so nimble as hers, I was assured, nor a 
personality more soothing when things went 
wrong. 

There were books and magazines and al- 
ways flowers, in the Abode of the Princess, 
sometimes a bowl full of lovely blossoms, often 
but one beautiful spray. 

The trays when arranged for her meals were 
things of beauty. The china was inexpensive 
but charming. Sets with pink tones, white and 



70 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

gold, a delicate green, and pale yellow for the 
breakfast tray. There was even a gaudy 
decoration of splashy red flowers with blue 
leaves which the invalid laughingly explained 
they used when they wanted to "handsome-up" 
a lamb stew. There was always a flower on 
the tray or a bit of green to give the meal a 
festal air. 

And those meals! Simple, perhaps, but so 
delicious. Some of the recipes I procured, but 
having been cooking for weeks for a hungry 
horde I felt as I read the amount of the in- 
gredients that I had a prescription for bird 
feed. 

There was a delicious celery soup made by 
cooking one stalk of celery which had been 
chopped in two-thirds cup of milk in double 
boiler twenty minutes, then thickened with 
one-half tablespoon of butter and three-quar- 
ters tablespoon of flour which had been cooked 
together. The mixture was then cooked one 
minute, seasoned with salt and pepper, and 
served with a floating island of whipped 
cream. 

One day, as the tray for the Princess was 



OUR INVALID NEIGHBOR 71 

being carried by, I caught the aroma of oys- 
ters. Oysters in shells had been used. These 
had been washed and scrubbed, then placed 
on rock salt in a tin pan, so that the shells 
would not tip. They were then baked in a hot 
oven till the shells opened. The flat side of 
shell was removed, leaving oysters in the deeper 
half. These were arranged on a napkin in a 
soup plate and each oyster was dressed with 
melted butter to which had been added a few 
drops of lemon juice, salt and paprika. 

Three fresh, tempting mushrooms which 
the Youngest Member discovered in the pas- 
ture were sauted in butter three minutes, then 
covered with hot cream and served around an 
egg timbale. This was made by melting one 
teaspoon of butter to which was added one tea- 
spoon of flour, and when smooth one-fourth 
cup of scalded milk. When this sauce was cold 
the yolk of one egg was added and the mixture 
beaten two minutes, after which the white of 
the egg beaten till stiff was folded in and one- 
eighth teaspoon of salt was added. This was 
turned into a buttered mold, set in a pan of 
hot water, and baked in slow oven till firm. 



72 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

I have tried this same timbale surrounded by 
fresh green peas or asparagus tips and it is 
equally delicious. 

Then there was a tempting cake of chopped 
beef which had been cooked on a hot griddle 
for five minutes and was served in a little pool 
of its own succulent juice, which had been 
lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and melted 
butter. Sometimes there is creamed chicken 
in a halo of delicately browned mashed potato ; 
with this is served a tiny mold of currant jelly 
or a tempting lettuce sandwich. 

The salads are of the daintiest. There is 
one made by arranging the delicate green 
leaves of lettuce in nest shape. In the heart 
of this snuggle three egg-shaped balls of cream 
cheese — which have been mixed with cream 
and tinted with vegetable coloring until the 
delicate hue of a bird's egg — flecked with 
paprika. Over it is poured French dressing. 

Another tempting salad is made by taking 
two sections each of grapefruit and orange, 
removing the membranous covering and lay- 
ing them alternately on a bed of tender lettuce. 
Outline the top of each section with a tiny 



OUR INVALID NEIGHBOR 73 

thread of pimiento and pour over it French 
dressing. Brown a saltine, which has been 
buttered, in the oven and when crisp pile on it 
lightly cream cheese which has been mixed 
with cream. In the center place half an olive 
and serve with the salad. 

One day while serving ice cream — to which 
had been added, before the final packing, 
chopped preserved marrons and a dash of 
sherry — I had an inspiration. I filled a mini- 
ature stein with the ice cream, heaped whipped 
cream on the top, and sent the foaming tank- 
ard to the Princess across the way. 

Meringues which seem about as filling as 
sweetened air to the normal appetite have a 
very enticing way with an invalid. Beat the 
whites of two eggs until stiff; add gradually 
one-half cup of fine granulated sugar, beating 
till mixture will hold its shape. Shape with 
spoon on buttered white paper which has been 
spread on wet board. Bake thirty minutes in a 
slow oven. When baked lift from paper and 
remove from flat side the soft part of 
meringue. Dry shell in oven. Cut white wine 
jelly in cubes, mix with sweetened whipped 



74 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

cream and fill two meringue shells. Lay the 
pair together on a plate, allowing the wine jelly 
to appear between them. 

White Wine Jelly — Soak one and one-half 
teaspoons of granulated gelatine in one table- 
spoon of cold water. Add two tablespoons 
of boiling water, and when gelatine is dis- 
solved four tablespoons of sugar, eight table- 
spoons of white wine and two tablespoons of 
orange or lemon juice. Strain, turn into flat 
dish and chill. 

As I keep on hand a sirup for fruit drinks 
made by boiling an equal quantity of water 
and sugar together twelve minutes without 
stirring, a refreshing hot day beverage is 
quickly concocted. Two tablespoons of lemon 
juice, one and one-half tablespoons of sirup 
a crushed mint leaf, the glass filled from a 
siphon of soda which is kept on the ice, never 
fails to bring a smile and an "Oh, you are so 
good!" to the lips of our invalid neighbor. 



CHAPTER SEVEN: THE EMER- 
GENCY CUPBOARD 



CHAPTER VII 

THE EMERGENCY CUPBOARD 

The co-operative housework experiment 
was working- to a charm. It was proving to 
the satisfaction of my immediate family and 
its collateral branches that there need be no 
"servant problem" in the life of an able-bodied 
woman who has no small children. The labor 
and the cost of living had been reduced with- 
out sacrificing the amenities of life. The 
neighbors were interested, but shook their 
heads with a "Wait till friends appear unex- 
pectedly!" Ah, they little knew the soothing 
consciousness of a well-stocked emergency cup- 
board on the shelves of which were ranged 
large cans and small cans, jars, bottles and 
packages in infinite variety. 

As canapes make a most auspicious begin- 
ning for an emergency luncheon, I keep on 
hand Russian caviar. This spread on a crisp 

77 



78 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

round of toast, sprinkled with a few drops of 
lemon juice and garnished with the diced 
whites and powdered yolks of hard-boiled eggs, 
at once makes one's guest at peace with the 
world — that is, of course, provided he or she 
likes its racy flavor. 

A canape of more subtle quality is made by 
creaming anchovy paste with butter — anchovy 
paste is one of the most popular and respected 
occupants of the emergency cupboard — 
spreading a crisp round of toast with the mix- 
ture, this is covered with mayonnaise with 
which has been mixed enough tomato catchup 
to color it a delicate pink; it is then garnished 
with hard-boiled egg and a half of an olive 
is placed in the center. 

Major Grey Chutney is a condiment which 
is a prime favorite when used as an accom- 
paniment to creamed chicken. Chopped very 
fine and served on a round of toast which has 
been spread with mayonnaise, it makes a deli- 
cious canape, and when this concoction is 
crowned with a slice of fresh tomato, also 
thinly spread with mayonnaise, upon the center 
of which curls an anchovy, and the whole is 



EMERGENCY CUPBOARD 79 

garnished with hard-boiled egg, it becomes a 
very hearty, satisfying forerunner to a simple 
luncheon. 

Another canape, which has a decided tang 
when served with afternoon tea, is made of 
bread cut in diamond shape and spread with 
butter with which has been creamed an equal 
amount of fresh cheese grated. The canape 
has a border of pimiento which has been 
chopped fine and mixed with mayonnaise; in 
the center gleams a tiny scarlet star of the 
pimiento. 

On the shelves are cans of soups, mostly in 
the smallest size, for one can will serve two 
persons and when a larger quantity is desired 
a delicious result is obtained by mixing tomato 
and mock turtle. A soup which, while it does 
not come under the emergency list, is so simple 
that it may be recorded here is Clam Bisque. 
Cook one quart of clams in shell, one pint of 
cold water and one slice of onion, twenty min- 
utes. Mix one tablespoon flour and one table- 
spoon of butter to a cream ; add one pint of thin 
cream and cook in double boiler while clams 
are cooking. Strain the clam water on to this 



80 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

mixture, season with salt and pepper, and 
serve very hot. 

Then there is ox-tongue in glass, which 
when served in dainty slices with a vegetable 
salad, or baked bananas, or cold potatoes diced 
and stewed in cream, is most satisfying. 
Canned chicken diced, heated in cream sauce 
which has been flavored with lemon juice and 
celery salt, and an extra touch given by the 
addition of a few teaspoons of chopped pimien- 
tos, may be speedily prepared; supposing, of 
course, that one is forehanded enough to have 
a jar of cream sauce on hand. There is corned 
beef which, when taken from the can, may be 
quickly transformed into hash, and when 
crisply browned and served with sweet-pickled 
cucumbers is most delicious. Finnan haddie 
is another glass-inclosed product and is delect- 
able when creamed ; and as for canned salmon, 
well, that, by the addition of crisp lettuce 
leaves and boiled dressing, may be whisked 
into a tempting salad at a moment's notice. 

Baked beans from a can, either heated and 
served with tomato chutney or made into a 
palatable soup, has many times cheered me on 



EMERGENCY CUPBOARD 81 

my hospitable way. To make the soup, cook 
one cup of baked beans and one-half an onion 
in one cup of cold water till soft. Strain. To 
one cup of bean pulp add one-half pint of 
liquid from stewed and strained tomato. 
Thicken with one-half tablespoon of flour 
which has been mixed with one tablespoon of 
water. Let the mixture boil a few minutes 
after adding flour. Serve with thin slices of 
lemon and hard-boiled egg. 

With cold meats may be served slices of 
pineapple which, after being" taken from the 
can, have been carefully drained of all sirup 
and then sauted to a delicate brown in butter. 
There are cans of asparagus tips which may be 
served hot on toast or chilled for a salad with 
French dressing, or they may be added to a 
savory omelette. There are new beets which 
should be first scalded and then chilled when 
taken from the can, then diced and mixed with 
mayonnaise dressing and served on lettuce with 
a garnish of hard-boiled eggs. The shelves 
also offer a variety of canned vegetables which 
prove a tower of strength in an emergency. 

From the contents of my preserve closet I 



82 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

can always present a delicious dessert, but I 
do keep on hand one can of plum pudding in 
case of need; when that is served piping hot 
with a hard sauce made by creaming one-half 
cup of butter and adding to it gradually one 
and one-half cups of confectioner's sugar, 
stirring constantly, flavoring with vanilla or 
sherry, and crowning the lightly piled mass 
with grated nutmeg, it proves a great success. 

Figs in glass, preserved marrons, Mara- 
schino cherries and Guava jelly are some of 
my other friends in need. The jelly, sprinkled 
with chopped nuts and served between thin 
crackers, makes a delicious adjunct to after- 
noon tea ; and, as there are always dates in the 
cupboard, these date cakes may also be made 
for the five o'clock festivity. 

Date Cakes — Whites of four eggs beaten 
stiff; one cup of powdered sugar; one cup of 
dates cut in pieces; one cup of pecan or walnut 
meats; one-quarter teaspoon of cream of tar- 
tar. Bake in moderate oven. 

While on the subject of tea, let me record 
a new kind of bread which I have learned to 
make for sandwiches. Scald one cup of milk 



EMERGENCY CUPBOARD 83 

and add to it one and one-half tablespoons of 
molasses, three-quarters teaspoon of salt, one 
tablespoon of butter. When lukewarm, add 
yeast cake, half cup of white flour, and enough 
entire wheat flour to knead. When risen add 
half cup of orange peel cut fine — or one-half 
cup of raisins seeded — and one-half cup of 
English walnuts cut fine. Bake in bread tin 
and when served butter on the loaf and cut 
very thin. 

Hot scones with strawberry jam is another 
afternoon-tea delicacy which is popular in the 
family. Take two cups of pastry flour with 
which has been sifted three times four level 
teaspoons of baking-powder and one teaspoon 
of salt. With the tips of the fingers work into 
this three tablespoons of butter. Add slowly 
two-thirds cup of milk, mixing the dough with 
a knife. Turn on to floured board and knead 
with tips of fingers till smooth. Roll into a 
sheet about three-quarters inch thick. Cut 
with diamond-shaped cutter and bake in but- 
tered pan. When baked, cut from the top of 
scone a diamond-shaped piece and fill cavity 
with strawberry jam. 



84 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

After all there is nothing more delicious to 
serve with a cup of tea than cinnamon toast, 
and its simplicity is an added recommendation. 
Spread crisp, thin, finger slices of toast with 
butter; be sure the toast is hot, dust it lightly 
with sugar, then with powdered cinnamon. 

Among emergency provisions for afternoon 
tea are boxes of chocolate-covered crackers, 
saltines and marshmallows. Place marshmal- 
lows on buttered saltines and brown in the oven 
until the marshmallow is melted but not shape- 
less. A bit of butter should be placed on top 
of the confection before it is browned; this 
leaves an indentation into which may be 
dropped half a pecan, a candied cherry, or a 
bit of currant jelly. 

Tucked away in a remote corner, that I may 
not be tempted to use it often, is a can of 
coffee crystals. A teaspoon of this added to a 
cup of boiling water becomes in the twinkling 
of an eye a cup of delicious coffee. Think of 
it! No coffee pot to wash and scald and dry 
and polish, no coffee grounds to dispose of! 
Truly the way of the hospitably inclined is 
made easy in this day and generation! 



CHAPTER EIGHT: WHEN WE EAT 

WHAT WE CAN AND CAN 

WHAT WE CAN'T 



CHAPTER VIII 

WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE CAN AND "CAN" 
WHAT WE CAN'T 

At the first sight in the spring of the great 
pink buds of the rhubarb showing above the 
brown earth, the preserving fever begins to 
course in my veins. How eagerly we watch 
the stalks of that succulent plant as they soar 
skyward. They barely have a chance to grow 
out of infancy before they are plucked and 
the bulletin board announces : "Rhubard Tart 
for Supper !" In the middle of a deep baking 
dish invert a small cup — this collects and holds 
the juice while cooking — surround it with rhu- 
barb peeled and cut in inch pieces, a liberal 
amount of sugar and a sprinkling of nutmeg. 
Fill the dish very full, cover with pastry and 
bake, and you have the tart. Serve with it 
Swiss cheese. 

Later there is rhubarb conserve to be made. 

87 



88 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

Wash and peel four pounds of rhubarb and 
cut stalks in inch pieces. Put in preserving 
kettle; add five pounds of sugar, one pound 
of seeded raisins, grated rind and juice of two 
lemons, and an ounce and a half of candied 
ginger cut fine. Mix, cover and let stand one- 
half hour. Bring to boiling point and let sim- 
mer for three-quarters of an hour. Stir often 
to prevent catching on bottom of kettle. Turn 
into glasses and seal. 

The next fruit to make its entrance on our 
garden stage is the strawberry. What could 
start the day better than a circle of these large, 
luscious, crimson berries with their green caps 
on surrounding a snowy cone of powdered 
sugar on a plate of vivid green strawberry 
leaves? The smaller berries which have been 
discarded for the breakfast table are sliced, 
covered with sugar, then set away in the cold 
till it is time to serve them as a sauce for plebe- 
ian boiled rice which has been molded in melon 
shape. Strawberries, washed, hulled and cooked 
with their equal weight in sugar, make a de- 
licious jam. They should be cooked until the 
liquid when dropped on a plate will jelly; if 



WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE CAN 89 

cooked too long they lose their color and a 
good deal of their flavor. Often one has a 
few berries left over after a meal; it is well 
worth while to turn them into jam, and it is 
quite surprising what a shelf full of goodies 
one can accumulate in this easy way. 

When the robins begin to haunt the cherry 
trees, the Crown Prince and the Youngest 
Member also get busy. There are cherries 
enough for all, as when we planted we took 
into consideration the needs of our feathered 
neighbors, so the birds do not miss the fruit 
when on our breakfast table appears a great 
wooden bowl — you have no idea what an artis- 
tic bit the chopping bowl becomes when util- 
ized in this way — filled with clusters of black- 
heart and white-heart cherries and their leaves. 
Often for dessert at this season we have a 
cherry pudding which is made by sifting two 
cups of flour with four teaspoons of baking 
powder and one-half teaspoon of salt. Stir 
into this one cup of milk; add one cup of 
cherries stoned; turn into buttered baking- 
powder tins, and steam two hours. Serve with 
hard or cream sauce. To preserve cherries, 



90 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

select large firm fruit. Make a sirup of two 
parts granulated sugar to one of water; skim 
thoroughly; stone cherries and cook until soft 
in boiling sirup. Pack cherries in jar; fill to 
brim with hot sirup and seal. Strain remain- 
ing sirup in which cherries have been cooked 
into jars or bottles; seal and use for fruit bev- 
erages. Cherries make a delicious jam as 
well. 

Sometimes when making vanilla ice cream in 
the raspberry season, I line a melon mold with 
the frozen mixture and fill the cavity with these 
luscious berries which have been lightly sug- 
ared. The mold is then filled to the brim with 
ice cream, a sheet of paraffine paper laid on 
the top, and the cover pressed down. It is 
then packed in ice and salt for two hours, not 
longer, as the berries should not freeze, un- 
molded and surrounded with whipped cream 
which is garnished with berries. Raspberry 
jam is made the same as strawberry and gives 
variety to divers desserts. 

On a July day, so hot that all the world 
stands idle in the market places, a currant ice 
will alter one's outlook upon life. Make a 



WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE CAN 91 

sirup by boiling equal quantities of sugar and 
water together. Cool and add sufficient cur- 
rant juice, pressed from fresh fruit, to give 
it a rich, deep crimson. Add the juice of one 
or two lemons, that depends upon the quantity 
made, and freeze. As the mixture loses sweet- 
ness in freezing, currants require a sweeter 
sirup than other fruits. A water-ice which is 
not sweet enough is about the flattest produc- 
tion in the culinary world. 

Of course in the season every one makes 
jellies, but I also store away bottles of fruit 
juices. To make these, wash fruit — currants, 
raspberries, strawberries or blackberries — mash 
and put in preserving kettle on range and let 
them slowly heat to boiling point. Cook about 
twenty minutes, then strain through cheese- 
cloth, pressing out every drop of juice pos- 
sible. For each quart of juice allow one-half 
cup of granulated sugar which has been heated 
in the oven; boil five minutes and turn into 
sterilized jars or bottles. 

Spiced gooseberries make a delicious accom- 
paniment to cold meat or creamed chicken. 
Cook six quarts of gooseberries — which have 



92 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

been washed and prepared — with nine pounds 
of sugar, one and one-half hours. Then add 
one pint of vinegar, one tablespoon each of 
powdered cinnamon, clove and allspice. Boil 
until the liquid jellies when cooled; store in 
jelly glasses or jars. 

Blackberry shortcake is a delicacy which 
few seem to know. Very large, juicy berries 
should be used in the same way that straw- 
berries are used. Whipped cream is a very 
delectable addition, but should always be served 
heaped in a glass bowl, that it may be added 
when desired. 

When tomatoes appear in the garden some 
fine specimens are peeled and sliced into a bak- 
ing dish. Between layers is shaken salt, pep- 
per, sugar and small pieces of butter are 
added. This is baked slowly in the oven two 
or three hours. When baked it is sprinkled 
with grated cheese and garnished with whipped 
cream. 

Tomato conserve is delicious with cold meats 
and is made by peeling four quarts of ripe 
tomatoes to which are added six lemons sliced 
very thin — be sure that no seeds escape into 



WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE CAN 93 

the mixture — cut one and one-half ounces 
candied ginger very fine ; add one cup of seeded 
raisins and four pounds of granulated sugar. 
Put ingredients in preserving kettle, heat 
slowly to boiling point and cook till the con- 
sistency of marmalade. Seal in jars while hot. 

The cucumbers which, having eluded the 
eagle eye of the Head of the House, have 
grown to corpulency, are transformed into 
sweet pickle. Peel and cut cucumbers into 
rings, removing seeds. Boil one ounce of alum 
in one gallon of water and pour over the sliced 
cucumbers. Let stand on back of range where 
it will simmer slowly four hours. Remove cu- 
cumbers from alum water and let stand in cold 
water till thoroughly cool, then drain. Boil 
one quart of vinegar and four pounds of 
brown sugar together and strain. Add this 
sirup to cucumbers with one ounce of stick 
cinnamon and a half -ounce of whole cloves. 
Boil until cucumber rind may be pierced with 
a straw, then store in an earthen crock. 

If you have a bit of land plant a plum tree. 
It is hardy, a thing of beauty when in blossom, 



94 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

the fruit is luscious, and you may then experi- 
ence the joy of plum jam with your matutinal 
toast. Wipe ripe plums, cut them open, weigh 
and boil in preserving kettle twenty minutes. 
The stones will rise to the top ; skim them off. 
For each pound of plums allow three-quarters 
pound of sugar. Heat sugar in oven and add 
to the hot plums. Cook until juice jellies 
when dropped on plate. 

Delicious peach jam is made in the same 
way as plum, save that the peaches are stoned 
and peeled; but 'tis peach shortcake which 
makes the family fairly purr with content- 
ment. Bake sponge cake layers as for Wash- 
ington pie, fill between and on top with sliced, 
chilled and sugared peaches and crown the 
masterpiece with snowy whipped cream. 

Somehow sweet pickle pears seem the proper 
accompaniment to roast beef, so I prepare 
them in this wise : Peel seven pounds of pears 
and stick them with whole cloves. Boil one 
quart of vinegar and four pounds of brown 
sugar and one tablespoon of whole allspice. 
Add the pears and cook until soft, being care- 




"Long before the apple picking season arrives 
hampers." 



WHEN WE EAT WHAT WE CAN 95 

ful that they do not break. These may be 
kept in a stone crock. 

The storeroom shows all varieties of apple 
jellies, from the vivid green of mint to the 
pink of the rose geranium flavor, and now that 
I have learned to cook a few apples with 
grapes when making grape jelly I can pro- 
duce with pride a grape jelly which really 
"jells." 

In such ways does the garden help reduce 
the expense account — but that is not all. Who 
does not know the effort of mind expended 
and often the strain upon the purse — when 
trying to procure a gift for a friend already 
laden with the material goods this world af- 
fords? The garden has solved that problem 
for me. My eyes are always on the watch for 
an odd-shaped glass jar in which to present 
jams or jellies, and long before the apple- 
picking season arrives I search for odd baskets 
and hampers — the markets and ten cent stores 
are mines of opportunity — which I pack with 
choice specimens of apples and pears. The 
fruit is carefully separated by little tufts of 



96 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

green paraffine paper, such as florists use, a 
spray of green leaves or holly decorates the 
top layer, and I have an offering which will 
make the eyes of the most gilded, dyed-in-the- 
wool city dweller glisten with anticipation. 



CHAPTER NINE: READY-TOE AT 
SUPPERS 



CHAPTER IX 

READY-TO-EAT SUPPERS 

Every woman who is her own cook dreads 
that feeling of revolt which sweeps over her 
when, the noon meal just finished, she con- 
fronts the problem of supper. The recurring 
monotony of meal-getting is the rock upon 
which many a home ship has dashed to pieces. 

Here was an efficiency proposition which 
kindled my imagination ! To assure myself of 
leisure in the afternoon I must accomplish the 
feat of preparing supper in the morning. 

Well, it did not require half the puckered- 
brow thought to solve this problem that I had 
given to a game of bridge in less enlightened 
days. In the first place I made the tireless 
cooker work for me. Had it not been for that 
comfort of the servantless, I could not have 
motored all one crisp, bracing autumn after- 
noon and yet have regaled the family with a 
hot, savory mutton stew for supper. 

99 



100 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

After luncheon I browned two cups of two- 
inch cubes of mutton in one-quarter cup of 
butter ; placed this in flreless-cooker pail ; added 
two-thirds cup of tomato, one onion sliced, one 
tablespoon chopped parsley or a dried celery 
root, two cups of pared potato cubes, which 
had been parboiled, one teaspoon of salt, one- 
eighth teaspoon of pepper, and covered the 
whole with two cups of water. This was placed 
on the range and allowed to boil five minutes, 
after which the pail was placed in the fireless 
to cook from three to four hours. When re- 
moved, the pail was set on top of range and 
into the mixture was stirred one-third cup of 
flour, which had been mixed to thin paste with 
water. The stew boiled for five minutes before 
serving. 

With this was served escalloped tomatoes 
which had been prepared in baking dish in the 
morning, with buttered crumbs on top, all 
ready to be set in the oven at night and 
browned. Toast had been the bread served, 
and the dessert was of individual custards with 
caramel and nut sauce; this also made ready 
before noon. 




"That comfort of the servantless, the fireless cooker. 



READY-TO-EAT SUPPERS 101 

Veal loaf, which may be prepared at any 
time and served cold, is a delectable supper 
dish. Chop three pounds of veal and one-half 
pound of ham or salt pork very fine. Mix into 
it two eggs well beaten, one cupful of fine 
bread or cracker crumbs, one teaspoon of salt, 
one-half teaspoon of pepper, one teaspoon of 
onion juice, one-half teaspoon of ground mace, 
one-half teaspoon of allspice, mold into a loaf 
and place on baking dish. Glaze with beaten 
egg and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Cook in 
moderate oven two hours, basting often with 
melted butter and water. 

Macaroni and tomato sauce, hot and tempt- 
ing, is served with the slices of veal loaf, as the 
former is a dish which may be prepared early, 
ready for the final browning at night. We 
have thin brown bread sandwiches with this, 
and a rather rich dessert of Banbury tarts. 
These also are made in the morning, and are 
slipped into the oven for a moment before 
serving. To make: chop one cup of seeded 
raisins ; add two teaspoons of very thinly sliced 
citron, one-half cup of sugar, the grated rind 
and juice of one lemon, one egg beaten light, 



102 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

and one-eighth teaspoon of salt. Cut rounds 
of pastry, place spoonful of mixture on one 
side, moisten edges of round with water, fold, 
press edges together, and bake. 

One day when I opened a cookbook which 
had belonged to my grandmother I saw, in her 
fine writing, "Spiced Mackerel." In a flash 
the years rolled back, and I was a little girl 
again trying to peer over the edge of her 
kitchen table at the mass of tinkers which lay 
glistening there in all their bravery of silver, 
green and red. The memory made me am- 
bitious. I tried spicing some mackerel, and 
they were greeted with such acclaim that I will 
here record the method. Clean and wash small 
mackerel. Put them in layers in a crock with 
a little salt and cayenne pepper sprinkled be- 
tween each layer. Mix one even tablespoon of 
mustard, two of brown sugar, salt to taste — I 
am quoting Grandmother — quarter cup of pep- 
per corns, stick of cinnamon, and four cloves. 
Cover crock with an old plate and simmer in 
oven one hour. These are to be served cold 
and will keep in the crock, if kept cool, for two 
weeks. 



READY-TO-EAT SUPPERS 103 

As creamed potatoes, save for the final 
browning, can be prepared in the morning, 
they are very delicious to serve with the mac- 
kerel and cold bran muffins sliced and but- 
tered; and jelly roll for dessert makes a well- 
balanced meal. 

After breakfast lettuce may be washed, 
dried and placed in cheesecloth bag on the ice, 
cooked vegetables diced, and French dressing 
mixed for the supper salad. To serve with 
this, some time try stuffed eggs creamed. Put 
six eggs in boiling water in top of double 
boiler with boiling water in bottom part; let 
stand over low fire thirty-five minutes. Cool 
eggs and remove shells. Cut eggs in half, 
mash yolks with one teaspoon of melted but- 
ter (or olive oil) ; one teaspoon of anchovy 
paste and a few grains of cayenne, and a bit 
of paprika. Fill whites with this mixture, dip 
edges in beaten white of egg and press to- 
gether. Line bottom of buttered baking dish 
with the yolk mixture left; arrange stuffed 
eggs in dish; pour over them white sauce; 
cover with buttered crumbs and put in cool 



104 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

place till ready to brown and heat in oven. 
This takes about fifteen minutes. 

Thin white bread and butter, or slices of nut 
bread buttered, seem to fit in with this supper, 
and prune pudding makes a delicious dessert. 
To make: cook one-half pound of soaked 
prunes with one-quarter cup of sugar and two 
cups of water; when prunes are soft, drain, 
stone and chop; add meats from eight prune 
stones to mixture ; heat two cups of the liquor 
and add to two tablespoons of granulated gela- 
tine which has been dissolved in one-quarter 
cup of cold water; add juice of one lemon or 
orange and two teaspoons of sherry ; mix with 
chopped prunes; turn into individual molds 
and chill. Unmold on lace paper doilies and 
surround with whipped cream. 

Sometimes, after consomme in cups, we have 
Italian salad. This is a wicked dish, but so 
delectable that its sins of indigestibility are 
forgiven it. In the morning marinate cubes 
of cold boiled potatoes with French dressing, 
in which lemon juice has been used instead of 
vinegar. Keep in a cold place. When ready 
to serve, heap potatoes on a platter; coat with 



READY-TO-EAT SUPPERS 105 

mayonnaise dressing and garnish with sardines, 
shrimps, pimolas cut in rings, and hard-boiled 
egg. Thin bread and butter is best to serve 
with this rich dish, and fruit in glasses for 
dessert. 

Deviled lobster may be prepared in the 
morning for a later heating. Take the meat 
from two lobsters, each weighing about two 
and a half pounds, one pint of cream, two 
tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon of mus- 
tard, a speck of cayenne, salt, pepper, and a 
scant pint of bread crumbs. Put the cream on 
to boil, mix the flour, mustard and pepper to- 
gether, and add three spoonfuls of boiling 
cream; stir all into the remaining cream and 
cook two minutes. Add the lobster cut in 
pieces, salt and cayenne, and boil one minute. 
Fill individual shells, or a baking dish, with 
the mixture, cover with bread crumbs, and 
when the time comes brown for twenty minutes 
in a hot oven. With this serve crisp, thinly 
sliced cucumbers in French dressing, and cin- 
namon rolls, which, while they may be made in 
the morning, really take little time and are 
much more delicious when freshly baked. Cin- 



106 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

namon Rolls : Sift together twice two cups of 
sifted pastry flour, one-half teaspoonful of 
salt, four level teaspoons of baking-powder. 
Mix, and into this work one-quarter cup of 
butter with the tips of the fingers. Add one 
beaten egg and one-half cup of milk and mix 
to a dough. Knead the dough slightly, and 
roll into oblong sheet about one-third of an 
inch thick. Brush the sheet with softened but- 
ter; sprinkle with granulated sugar, about 
three even tablespoons, and rather lightly with 
powdered cinnamon; then with a quarter of a 
cup of chopped, seeded raisins and one-quarter 
of a cup of chopped walnut meats. Roll the 
dough into long roll and cut in pieces an inch 
long. Set these in buttered baking pan and 
bake. 

If the evening promises to be cold, the ap- 
petites clamorous, and the first course of the 
supper light, 'tis then that I summon the fire- 
less to my aid and prepare a steamed pudding. 
The fruit in it may be figs, dates or raisins, 
the foundation is the same. Sift together one 
cup of entire wheat flour, one-half cup of white 
flour, one-half teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon 



READY-TO-EAT SUPPERS 107 

of soda, one teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix and 
add one beaten egg, one-half cup of milk, one- 
half cup of molasses, four tablespoons of 
melted butter, then a cup of fruit. Turn into 
buttered baking-powder tins, filling them only 
two-thirds full, tie down the covers firmly, and 
place in fireless cooker pail, in which is boiling 
water, on top of range. Cover, and when the 
water has boiled in pail one-half hour, place 
the pail on hot disk in the fireless and cook 
about three hours. Serve the pudding with 
hard sauce. 

On Saturday the brown bread is mixed after 
luncheon and left to cook at its own sweet will 
in the fireless. Truly the woman who has not 
yet adopted the fireless cooker will have fas- 
cinating fields of experiment open out before 
her when she does. 



CHAPTER TEN: CONFECTIONS 
AND CONCLUSION 



CHAPTER X 

CONFECTIONS AND CONCLUSION 

All day the domestic ship is steered by the 
compass of System, but as the sun goes down 
we let a blissful sense cf irresponsibility take 
the helm. There being no temperament in the 
kitchen to be disturbed — and very justly — if 
we are an hour late, we motor, sail or tramp to 
our hearts' content, then congregate for sup- 
per, each one very happy, very hungry and 
very helpful. 

After supper the dishes are washed, scalded, 

placed in a dish drainer, covered with a fresh 

towel, and left to dry until morning, when 

clean, shining, spotless, they will be put away. 

The Head of the House under his own special 

light enjoys his evening paper; at the round 

table the Crown Prince and I become absorbed 

in our books, while on the rug, his back to the 

jolly crackling log fire, the Judge lies stretched 

111 



112 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

in serene contentment, one eye closed, the 
other fixed in unwavering watchfulness upon 
the door through which he knows the Youngest 
Member will enter, whose self-appointed duty 
it is — between the baseball and football sea- 
sons — to keep the family provided with sweets. 

Sometimes it is a peanut candy with which 
he regales us; the kind which is so deliciously 
brittle that it shivers into little bits as one 
nibbles it. To make it: add to three table- 
spoons of melted butter two cups of molasses 
and two-thirds cup of sugar. Boil until mix- 
ture is brittle when tried in cold water. Stir 
into this the meats from a quart of peanuts, 
skinned and split. Cool in buttered pans. 

One day, being in a reminiscent mood, I 
showed him how we used to pop corn in the 
eighties by putting a small quantity of butter 
in a preserving kettle, and when this had 
melted adding shelled corn. At first the corn 
has to be stirred to prevent burning, but when 
the first "white man" appears in the mass of 
brown ones, the cover is clapped on the kettle 
and the battle royal begins with the heavy can- 
nonading, until with a final splutter the last 




"In the hour following supper confections are quickly and easily made on the range 
or in the chafing dish." 



CONFECTIONS— CONCLUSION 113 

brown kernel is vanquished. A mass of beau- 
tifully popped corn, slightly buttered, is the 
result. 

This suggestion led to a veritable corn-ball 
fest and we were treated to that filling but 
difficult-of-consumption dainty till we cried 
"Hold, enough!" The balls were made by 
using corn popped in the regulation way, 
great care being taken to discard any hard 
kernels. Into a saucepan in which had been 
melted a tablespoon of butter is put one cup 
of molasses and one-half cup of sugar. Boil 
the mixture until it is brittle when dropped in 
cold water. Put selected corn into large kettle, 
shake over it a very little salt, and pour into it 
gradually the hot mixture, stirring constantly. 
When thoroughly mixed, shape into balls, but 
do not make them too compact. 

Chocolate fudge coming first on the list of 
quick-and-easy confections, we are liberally 
provided with that dainty, though to do the 
Youngest Member justice he uses great in- 
genuity in varying the formula. For fudge, 
pure and simple, put three tablespoons of but- 
ter in a saucepan; when melted add two cups 



114 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

of sugar, one cup of creamy milk, two squares 
of unsweetened chocolate. Bring to boiling 
point and let boil thirteen minutes; add tea- 
spoon of vanilla. Remove from range and 
beat until creamy (in the amount of beating 
lies the secret of a smooth, delicate fudge), 
turn into pan and cool. Marshmallows cut in 
quarters may be added before the mixture is 
turned into the pan, or one cup of chopped nut 
meats, or nut meats and figs, or raisins. 

Peanut butter fudge is a very smooth con- 
coction for an after-supper nibble. Put two 
cups of sugar and two-thirds cup of milk in 
saucepan. Bring to boiling point and let boil 
until a soft ball may be formed when mixture 
is tested in cold water. Remove from range, 
add four tablespoons of peanut butter and 
one teaspoon of vanilla and beat until creamy. 
Turn into buttered pan, cool and mark in 
squares, placing a split half of a peanut on 
each square. 

Penuche is hailed with acclaim when it ap- 
pears. If you wish to try it, melt one table- 
spoon of butter in saucepan, add two cups of 
brown sugar and one of white, and one cup of 



CONFECTIONS— CONCLUSION 115 

thin cream. Boil until mixture will form a 
soft ball when tested in cold water. Remove 
from range, beat until creamy, then add one 
cup of finely chopped walnut meats and figs in 
equal quantity. Turn into pan and cool. One 
cupful of nut meats alone may be used; the 
flavor of the candy is improved by sprinkling 
these lightly with salt. 

A delicious cocoanut candy is made by melt- 
ing one tablespoon of butter in a saucepan; to 
this add two cups of sugar and one-third cup 
of creamy milk. Boil until soft-ball stage is 
reached; remove from range and beat until 
creamy; add one teaspoon of vanilla (or one 
tablespoon of orange juice to which has been 
added a suspicion of the grated rind) , and two- 
thirds cup of shredded cocoanut. Turn into 
buttered pan and cool. 

When our next-door neighbor returns from 
school she brings new recipes with which the 
Youngest Member promptly experiments 
upon the family. The last time it was choco- 
late caramels. Put two and a half tablespoons 
of butter in a saucepan and when melted add 
two cups of brown sugar, two tablespoons of 



116 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

molasses, and one-half cup of creamy milk. 
Bring to boiling point and add four squares of 
unsweetened chocolate, stirring mixture con- 
stantly until chocolate is melted. Let boil till 
it forms a firm ball when tested in cold water. 
Add one teaspoon of vanilla, turn into buttered 
tin, cool and mark in squares. 

We clamored for chocolate peppermints. 
The Youngest Member was adamant. "Too 
much work to make fondant," he declared. 
One day, however, he gleefully produced some 
delectable chocolate peppermints made from 
the following rule: Mix confectioners' sugar 
with water until stiff enough to mold. Flavor 
with a few drops of oil of peppermint, mold 
into shapes and lay on paraffine paper in a cool 
place to harden. When cold, dip peppermints 
in melted unsweetened chocolate (or the new 
kind which comes sweetened and flavored), 
and again place on paraffine paper to dry. This 
same mixture of confectioners' sugar and 
water, flavored with vanilla, makes a delicious 
filling when placed between two halves of Eng- 
lish walnuts, or when covering an almond, or 
used as a filling for dates. 



CONFECTIONS— CONCLUSION 117 

Here is a recipe for very delicious plain pep- 
permints. Boil one-half pint of granulated 
sugar and three tablespoons of boiling water 
hard for three minutes. Drop six drops of 
oil of peppermint on four heaping tablespoons 
of confectioners' sugar; mix rapidly with hot 
sirup and drop quickly on to marble (almost 
every one has some marble relic of the dismal, 
melancholy black walnut era) . This same mix- 
ture may be flavored with oil of wintergreen 
and colored a delicate pink with vegetable col- 
oring ; in fact, it may be used as the foundation 
of mints in an infinite variety of flavor and 
color. 

We have dates stuffed with candied ginger, 
cream cheese, or nuts which have first been 
rolled in confectioners' sugar which has been 
mixed to a stiff paste with cream; after the 
date is filled it is rolled in granulated sugar. 
Then we have nuts in all varieties from the 
Jumbo peanut down to the filbert, all of which 
are made tempting by being placed in a pan 
containing a little olive oil or butter, then 
lightly salted, and delicately browned in the 
oven. 



118 COMFORT OF THE FAMILY 

As the back-log parts and falls, sending a 
shower of sparks up chimney, the Judge, 
roused from dreams of victory over the bull- 
dog next door, patters upstairs to bed; chairs 
are put into place; papers picked up; slouchy 
pillows plumped into shape; "Good Night!" 
is said and the lamps extinguished, and one 
more happy day of our successful co-operative 
home-making experiment slips silently into the 
Past. 









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